Chapter Text
December 4th, 202X. Asuka's 20th birthday. The day she goes back to Japan, for good this time. In middle school, she visited for "culture immersion" to further her academic legacy. She didn't like Japan, with all of the formalities and expectations they uphold. Germany was her home, and Japan was nothing but a boost to her already noble achievements. However, she had found a job under NERV Biological Sciences, a research center revolved around evolutionary psychology. Her guardian during her previous stay in Japan, Misato, had given her an invitation to work in the company's Neuroscience facility.
So here is Asuka Langley Soryuu, spending her 20th birthday driving to the international airport.
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Rei awoke on her mattress. Her plain mattress, positioned on the tile floor. All of Rei's belongings sat in dusty packages, and her eviction date was creeping closer and closer. December 4th, 202X. Just six days from her eviction date, meaning her Father was pushing her out of the "nest". Testing her flight. Rei was quite excited, she had savings, and could finally leave the infested and worn apartment. The only issue though, was that Tokyo-3 was expensive. Incredibly so. To rent a studio apartment would be too much given her current job. So, she searched for answers online. In basic terms, Rei posted an ad for one to be her roommate. The place she was planning on sharing was a quaint, and slightly dirty, two bedroom apartment. Two people could cover a two bedroom, right? The only issue was just that nobody was taking her up on the offer.
So here is Rei Ayanami, 6 days from being homeless.
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Asuka landed in Japan, jetlagged and needing a nap. But reality hit her and jolted her awake, Asuka was in Japan. She did not have housing, she only had all of her belongings arriving seven days from now. She did not have anybody to stay with, despite her old connections in the city of Tokyo-3. That is where Asuka is returning to, a bustling city of high technology and... weirdos. But she didn't have any time to waste, she booked a tiny room within the airport to make some plans. Even with Asuka's seemingly important job, for now she was getting the starter salary around the same as a stupid security guard. Well, her position was a basic beginner's position. It's just because she's new, that's all! This is one of the most densely populated cities in Japan, so Asuka could barely afford a place for herself if she wanted to eat. So there she found herself, on a random website for local ads and offers. There she came across a description for a 2 bedroom apartment, close to her job. The "girl" (could Asuka even trust the ad?) also seemed similar to her by age and desired home situation. Not much emotional investment, or monetary investment besides rent. Perfect for her.
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Rei's phone buzzed and roused her from her state of trance. Seemingly with the view outside of her window, she doesn't really know. She never got any notifications, besides from preset apps downloaded before she even got the phone. But this one is different, it's for her roommate offer. She was perplexed to see it actually got a reply, and the sender also gave a description for herself. 20 year old girl, foreign but fluent, can pay rent, works a job at.... NERV? Her father's company? Wasn't this just "perfect" for her. Rei almost didn't reply to the offer, or look into this girl at all. But she was motivated solely by the thought that this could be her only chance to avoid being homeless.
"Thank you for your message. My phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. Please contact me for more information about move-in dates, leasing information, and personal information."
"Thank you for replying! I will text you on XXX-XXX-XXXX to talk more."
And that was it. Both of the girls were simultaneously relieved that their short-term planning seemed to work out. But would the pair truly be able to be roommates?